Are you prepared for the new Unfair Dismissal laws?

Some of the most significant changes for small businesses are the changes to unfair dismissal laws that came into effect 1 July 2009. Under the Fair Work Act 2009, an employee can make an unfair dismissal claim regardless of the business size, as long as they have completed the minimum employment periods and subject to certain other requirements.

Note: there are special arrangements for small business with the publication of the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code and Small Business Dismissal Fair Dismissal Checklist.

Unfair Dismissal law changes in summary:

• The exemption from unfair dismissal for employers with less than 100 employees is removed
• The exemption for termination for "operational reasons" is removed
• Employers with less than 15 employees will be able to avoid unfair dismissal claims by demonstrating that they have complied with the "fair dismissal code"
• Employees of small employers who have less than 12 months service will be excluded. For larger employers the qualification period is six months.
• Claims will be resolved by Fair Work Australia who will discuss issues directly with the Employer and Employee and will not allow legal representation unless in exceptional circumstances.

What do you need to do to comply with new dismissal laws?

Businesses should start by asking themselves these three critical questions:

1. Do you have legally compliant employment contracts?
2. Do you have workplace rules and policies describing what behaviour is expected of employees?
3. Do you have a clear disciplinary procedure and dismissal process which has been communicated to employees?

Workforce Guardian is an inexpensive online service that answers these critical questions:

• Generates compliant employment contracts in minutes that clearly articulate terms of employment
• Allows you to attach a Code of Conduct or create your own Employee Handbook
• Provides step-by-step performance and dismissal processes, dismissal templates, forms and letters at your fingertips
• Verified by leading law firm Clayton Utz.

Workforce Guardian's customers have the peace of mind that all content is fully compliant with the Government's dismissal laws at any point in time.

Some of the necessary forms and templates for dismissal that Workforce Guardian provides:

• Stand-down Procedure
• Invitation to Disciplinary Meeting Letter
• Termination Letter
• Dismissal Letter

Workforce Guardian provides comprehensive guidelines for specific dismissal and termination events such as:

• Restructuring and redundancy
• Transfer of Business
• Resignation
• Constructive dismissal

Get access to Workforce Guardian's valuable library, step-by-step processes and forms, templates and advice for dismissal

For more information, check out the New Fair Dismissal Code for Small Business